This invention relates to a battery of coke ovens with regenerative heat exchange between uncombined combustion media and burnt gases; the combustion media and burnt gases flow through conduits including rich-gas distribution branch lines having substantially identical gas-flow resistance elements, lean-gas distribution branch ducts having substantially identical gas-flow resistance elements and smoke-gas ducts having substantially identical gas-flow resistance elements to insure uniform and adequate distribution of media along the individual rows of heating flues.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a battery of coke ovens with regenerative heat exchange between uncombined combustion media fed into rows of individual heating flues in the battery of coke ovens and burnt gases drawn from such heating flues wherein the heating flue rows are connected, on one hand, through nozzle ducts associated with rich-gas burners or through horizontal brick ducts extending beneath the heating flue floor to a rich-gas distribution duct extending along the battery of coke ovens, the heating flue rows being connected, on the other hand, through regenerator floor ducts and changeover valves to lean-gas distribution ducts extending along the battery of coke ovens while the regenerator floor ducts are connected through smoke-gas valves to a smoke-gas collecting duct.
It has been observed that in a battery of coke ovens wherein a substantial number of coke oven chambers extend along in a spaced-apart, side-by-side relation, that the mean temperature in the heating flues supplying heat to such coke oven chambers substantially differs from heating flue-to-heating flue along the battery. The substantial difference between the mean heating flue temperature is due to the unequal pressure of fuel gases flowing from gas distribution lines along the battery to the heating walls. These heating walls are divided into individual heating flues. The substantial differences to the mean heating flue temperatures are also due to changes to the negative pressure (draught) which increases along the battery of coke ovens and draws the burnt gases off from the regenerator floor ducts. The temperature differences from row-to-row of heating flues result in widely varying temperatures and, therefore, widely varying properties to the coke which is pushed from the oven chamber when each chamber is operated for the same coking time. Alternatively, it is necessary to employ coking times of different lengths if the coke is to attain the same final temperature in each coking chamber before the coke is pushed.
To obtain uniform operation of the rows of heating flues along the battery of coke ovens in this respect, it is necessary to grade the quantities of rich-gas and lean-gas to be supplied to the individual rows of heating flues and to adjust smoke-gas valves so that there is a greater restriction to the flow of media in regard to the heating walls situated near the chimney. Regulation of this kind represents a relatively cumbersome and awkward task. Moreover, such gradings of the built-in regulating elements apply only to a specific operating state of the coke oven chambers, i.e., a specific coking time. A change to the coking time necessitates readjusting the regulating elements which is a procedure that involves a substantial amount of time and labor.